To Be or Not to Be (President): Election Day 2016

After months of campaigning, debates, and social media outlashes, Election Day 2016 has finally arrived. Voters from all over Oregon as well as the rest of the nation are swarming to voting polls to cast their ballots. Celebrities, even those from countries outside of the USA, have been encouraging their fans to vote through memes, selfies, and other posts made on social media.
As of today, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton leads the popularity polls with 45.7%, with Republican candidate Donald Trump falling behind with 40.8% popularity, and third party candidate Gary Johnson coming in last with 5% popularity. According to ABC News, Clinton holds a higher chance of winning the election than Trump by 42.8%.
For most South students, the election is extremely impactful, as most of them have only known Barrack Obama as president for most or all of their lives. Some students worry that the current candidates are not acceptable to fill the role of president and that the country may suffer because of it.
“Obama was a great president in my opinion, and he has done a lot for our country. It’s going to be odd having a new president in office, especially with the people up for election currently. I just hope things end up working out,” said Kylee Jackson ‘18.
Some students also think that social media has had an impact on this election in positive and negative ways. With outlets like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook being filled with posts about the election, students have seen social media become an influence in this election.
“It’s helped raise awareness for people who can’t vote yet, so we will be more involved in the next election. However, it has also spread some false information and caused people to give into peer pressure for supporting candidates they wouldn’t support if they knew the facts,” said Alyssa Thompson ‘19.